John Cruger-Hansen for West Contra Costa Unified School District Board

By John P. Cruger-Hansen

Letter to Parents and Community.

Let me introduce myself.

My name is John Cruger-Hansen, and I am a candidate for the Governing Board of the West Contra Costa Unified School District.

I will start by saying that I am not a politician. I am a district parent and I believe I can make a much-needed difference on what I feel is a difficult school board. As a member of the board I will show respect for the district teachers, administrators, support staff, community members, parents, students, and especially fellow board members. For the past 11 years, I have been involved as a volunteer in the district. During that time I have advocated that parents, students, and teachers work together as a team, with our community, to achieve success.

It is a combination of teamwork and partnership that is needed in all our schools for our children to receive the best possible education. From my experience, the best learning takes place when there is a trusting partnership among four parties - a willing student, a caring parent, a compassionate competent teacher, and an involved community. Take any partner out and education suffers.

From my perspective, the West Contra Costa Unified School District must work hard to gain the respect of all the constituents. The district must work to inspire our community members, business partners, teachers, and especially our parents who send their children to school every day. Respect is the key to how proceed to meet the public and deliver education to district students.

One of my goals as a Board Member is to have a qualified credentialed teacher in every classroom and for the district to employ strong principals who understand the importance in including schools in our neighborhoods and neighborhoods in our schools. You will also see me reaching out to the community - to parents, teachers, businesses, city governments, higher education institutions and community leaders, anyone with an interest in our 34,000+ students.

I am always looking for different and innovative ideas to improve my own performance. You can count on me as a board member to look for such "new ideas" for the district also, because there is no system that can not be improved upon. People ask me, "What is your vision for the district?" I can sum up my vision with these words: "A Broad Partnership." If we are to deliver educational excellence, we need to capture the imagination and energy of our teachers. We need to earn the respect of our parents. We need to reach out to the broader community and invite everyone to the table. And we need to open our minds, work together, test theories, and try alternative methods. Everyone must ask how he or she can help our Public Schools, and we must welcome and encourage this help.

In our district there is a dividing line between Public and Private schools. Both entities must work together and collaborate for the good of all the children in the district. We are not competitors, but allies in the fight to educate our children so they can succeed. The more success our children achieve, the better it is for our entire community.

To that end, I advocate welcoming parents at the table. I encourage parents to become involved in their school Site Councils, attend parent and PTA meetings, volunteer, talk to their child's teachers and principal regularly, or simply do their part by sending their child to school every day well rested, well fed and excited about learning. We are in this together. My pledge is to promote an environment of respect at our schools and district administration so all our parents are welcome in the process of education.

I look forward to working with everyone in the endeavor to together shape our children's education and future.